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There are many stories about who Nellie could’ve been – a teacher, a volunteer, or maybe even a business owner.
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But no one knows for sure as official documents about the school’s first days are missing.
While one can find multiple Nellie E. Browns on the internet, none of them seem to have clear links to Olongapo.
School records mention that Nellie was a Peace Corps volunteer who helped build the school. However, the timing doesn’t match: the Peace Corps started only in 1961 while the school was founded in 1953.
We decided to get in touch with long-time local residents and government agencies. No luck – Many records were missing, incomplete, destroyed by typhoons, floods, or the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991.
We checked out archives both in the Philippines and in the USA, but found no files.
We asked on social media platforms, but found no leads.
It’s been almost two years since we started this journey and we still don’t know anything about Nellie E. Brown.
But our curiosity has led us to connect with friends and family, foster appreciation of our own communities, and bring world history lessons a little closer to home.
Join us on this journey of Finding Nellie!
Ask a grandparent, a history buff, or maybe even a U.S. Sailor; look through archives and forums; open old newspapers; just try to see what you can find!
Got any clues or leads?
Send a message!
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